The Whatcom Wildlife Area has eight units totaling 4,960 acres north of Bellingham in Whatcom County, with the majority within a few miles of Puget Sound and about ten miles south of the Canadian border. More than three miles of the Nooksack River are adjacent to the wildlife area. The Tennant Lake unit is situated in the Nooksack Riverís mainstem floodplain and the river hugs the unitís western border. Most wetlands in the lower Nooksack were diked and ditched by the beginning of the 20th century.

Habitat types here include submergent and emergent marsh, grasslands, open water and deciduous, coniferous and mixed forest. Without disturbance, the climax vegetation in this area would be western red cedar and Douglas fir. The Whatcom Wildlife Area contains a wide range of wetland- and riparian-dependent species, as well as upland species. The area supports important habitat for wintering waterfowl and is located on the Pacific Flyway.

It was purchased beginning in the 1940s primarily for waterfowl habitat preservation and public recreation, with more recent acquisitions focused on salmonid habitat preservation.

How to Get Here

For driving
directions and more information on this Wildlife Area's
units, please click on the links below: